Bearded dragon

Bearded Dragon

(Pogona vitticeps)

Originating from Australia, bearded dragons are a gentle, intelligent and confident lizard which makes them interesting pets. Living for up to 15 years they grow to a maximum size of 60cm in length and have a real personality.

Selection Bearded dragon should be plump and confident with bright and clean eyes. Check its clean and strong looking with its head held up. They are naturally confident and active animals so should be on show in their vivarium and not hiding away.

Housing Be 100% accurate. If you do keep males and females, then be prepared for them to breed. Bearded dragons are large and active lizards. A pair of adults needs a large vivarium of at least 120x60x60cm. Enclosure can be made from wood or glass.

Substrate Bearded dragons can be used on various substrates. Beardie life is most recommended as it replicates the natural habitat on the animal. Sand, beech chips and cage carpet can also be used.

Heating Bearded dragons require a temperature range of up to 35C in the basking area, down to approximately 27C in the cooler area. This will provide the dragons with a temperature gradient across the vivarium at all times. At night the temperature can drop to 22C. As Beardies are active basking lizards they are best heated using white spot lights to create a suitable basking spot. (all heat source should be controlled by a good quality thermostat). There should also be thermometers at both ends of the enclosure to ensure the temperature range is accurate.

Lighting Bearded dragons require UVB lighting to help them absorb calcium from their diet and prevent metabolic bone disease (MBD). Bearded dragons must have a good quality UVB light. They cannot be maintained successfully without proper UVB lighting. UVB lighting should be replaced at a maximum of 12months as the amount of UV output will decline over time. Basking lights are more important to provide heat. A simple 14 hour light cycle (14 hours on 10 hours off) is ideal for a bearded dragon.

Feeding Bearded dragons are omnivorous, so require a mixed diet of insects and leafy salads such as rocket, water cress and dandelion leaves. Try and offer a variety to keep a balanced diet. Salads should be offered every day. Beardies will eat crickets, locusts, mealworms and waxworms. Crickets and locusts should be used as the main foods as they are lower in fat than worms and easier to digest than mealworms. Young bearded dragons will eat 80% insects and 20% salad as they get older this evens out to roughly 50-50%

Fresh water should be given daily in a water bowl.

Supplements Regular use of vitamin/mineral supplements is very important to prevent problems such as metabolic bone disease which is caused by calcium deficiency and/ or inadequate UV lights. Food should be dusted 2 times a week with a good vitamin supplement such as Repti-cal. Liquid calcium can also be added to drinking water for additional calcium

Shedding Bearded dragons shed their skin as they grow and will do so a little at a time. They rarely have any problems shedding. If problems do occur it is important to remove any unshed skin ASAP to avoid any of the animal's circulation being cut off resulting in losing toes or the end of a tail.

Maintenance It is important to spot clean the bearded dragons enclosure daily, removing any waste and uneaten food so there is no health risk to the animal. Once per month the enclosure should get a deep clean using reptile safe disinfectant and replace the old substrate with new.

Decor A few basking areas should be available to the dragon this can either be branches or rocks. Plastic plants can also be used as will offer some privacy to the animal. Live foods such as crickets may hide in these encouraging your dragon to actively hunt for them.

Compatibility Bearded dragons are happy living alone however there should never be more than 1 male within a group of dragons.

Russell McRae